Michael+Rodriguez





=Thalidomide =

Mrs. Lightfoot brought up thalidomide briefly in class one day and it sounded really interesting so I looked it up at home and watched a few videos on it. Thalidomide was a pill that pregnant women could take that would get rid of the morning sickness. It was later discovered that thalidomide causes birth defects. Children were being born with stumpy arms and "flippers." The Canadian government didn't pull these pills off the shelves until 6 months after they learned of the birth defects. Thalidomide was the a top seller because well who would want to actually go through the morning sickness all the time if there was a "safe" alternative. It took the Canadian government nearly thirty years to deliver the promise to compensate for the damage. It's really sad, I can't imagine what it would be like to grow up like the baby to the left had to. It's just wrong. media type="youtube" key="-G7UKLczVaU" height="305" width="383" align="center" cbc,. "Thalidomide: Bitter Pills, Broken Promises." //CBC Digital Archives//. cbc, n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. . "Thalidomide Victims." //YouTube//. Web. 31 May 2010. .

= = = ACETONITRILE =

====Acetonitrile is some nasty stuff and I wanted to check out a little closer and find out why it is used so much if it is that dangerous. I searched around but all I could find where very complex chemistry papers and labs. I also found out that there is a metal band called Acetonitrile, but that isn't incredibly important and they weren't even good. (time for sleep...)====